Dipeptide diaminobutyroyl benzylamide diacetate (INCI name), SYN-AKE, “snake peptide”
A small synthetic peptide-like molecule designed to mimic waglerin-1, a toxin in the venom of Wagler’s pit viper that blocks the muscle receptor for acetylcholine, the nerve signal that makes muscles contract. It’s marketed to soften expression lines.
None of these uses is approved. Uses tested in people come first, then claims that rest on animal studies or user reports.
Trial: tested in people, with the result. Animal: cell or animal studies only. Community: reported by users, not studied. No study: nothing published supports it.
Every compound’s uses, by body system: evidence map, and by condition: conditions A to Z.
Category 2 is FDA’s list of bulk substances that may present significant safety risks in compounding. The 503A bulks list adds substances that pharmacies may compound with. Advisory committee votes are advice; FDA makes the final decision. Sport status follows the WADA Prohibited List in force since January 1, 2026; athletes should confirm with their anti-doping organization. Checked October 5, 2026. Status outside the US checked October 7, 2026 against EMA, MHRA, Health Canada and TGA records. By country: EU, UK, Canada, Australia. Status of every compound.
Syn-Ake is a small synthetic molecule built from beta-alanine, proline and diaminobutyric acid, designed to mimic waglerin-1, a viper-venom toxin that blocks the muscle nicotinic acetylcholine receptor, the switch nerve signals use to make muscle contract. In the maker’s lab tests it reduced contractions of nerve-connected muscle cells by 82% after 2 hours, an effect described as reversible. No published study shows it reaches facial muscle through skin.
AnimalMainly from cell and animal studies; not shown in people.
Whether any reaches facial muscle through skin, and whether wrinkle changes in tests come from muscle effects rather than surface effects such as moisture, is unknown.
Supplier data
Maker’s test: cream with 4% of the supplier solution (about 80–120 ppm peptide), twice daily for 28 days in 45 volunteers.
Finished products contain 1–4% of the supplier solution, about 20–120 ppm peptide; “4% Syn-Ake” doesn’t mean 4% pure peptide.
Continuous, shown over 26 weeks
The ways Syn-Ake is most often run, each tagged with where it comes from.
The supplier solution is only about 0.25% peptide. It’s added to a finished product at cool-down (below 40 °C), never used neat.
45 volunteers split across placebo, a 10% Argireline product and 4% SYN-AKE: roughness fell 21% and wrinkle depth 20% from day 0 (Argireline: 4% and 2%). The much-quoted 52% was one volunteer’s top result.
Applied to clean skin over expression lines, such as the forehead and around the eyes. Topical only; never inject it.
Nothing special. Skip it and use the next application as usual.
Maker’s test in 45 volunteers: roughness 21% and wrinkle depth 20% lower than at day 0, and up to 52% on one volunteer’s forehead. Supplier data only, unpublished.
TrialWith a serum mixing it with Argireline and other actives, wrinkle scores improved 35–69% from baseline in 50 women, with no comparison group (Zhu 2026).
TrialSkin irritation or redness
Patch-test first. Stop if it doesn’t settle.
No adverse events in two 8–12-week studies of a serum containing it (92 women)
Studies were small and tested mixes, so rare reactions can’t be ruled out.
Eye irritation
Keep it out of the eyes. Rinse with water if it gets in.
Stop and see a doctor for a spreading rash, swelling, blistering or hives, eye pain after contact, or any new muscle weakness.
The side effects people ask about most, answered one by one. Each answer says where it comes from.
Trial: reported in human studies. Not reported: studied in people and not reported. No data: no human safety data. A side effect that hasn’t been reported can still happen, especially with long or high-dose use. Any of these across every compound: the side-effect finder.
No product label covers Syn-Ake, so these come from human studies and from precautions based on how it works. Most important first.
Precaution: follows from how it works or from a related drug, and hasn’t been tested. This isn’t a complete list: a pharmacist or doctor can check a specific medicine or condition. Every documented interaction, by medicine: drug interactions.
What’s known about pregnancy, breastfeeding, kidney and liver problems, age and surgery. Where nothing has been studied, the row says so.
Precaution: not studied, so the caution follows from how it works or from a related drug. Ages are given as approved or studied; this site never gives doses for children. Across every compound: pregnancy, breastfeeding, kidney disease, liver disease, older adults and surgery.
Paired in commercial serums as two different “Botox-like” peptides; tested together only in uncontrolled industry studies.
The published human study we found, with how many people took part. Animal studies aren’t listed here.
Static wrinkle scores improved 35–69% and dynamic wrinkle scores 10–13% from baseline (p<0.001), with no adverse events; with no comparison group, Syn-Ake’s share is unknown.
Zhu et al., Int J Cosmet Sci 2026, PMID 41668671
No ongoing trial of Syn-Ake is registered, and none has finished recently without publishing its results. Checked on ClinicalTrials.gov, October 7, 2026. Every compound: trials under way.
Syn-Ake’s human evidence is the maker’s unpublished 28-day test in 45 volunteers and two industry studies of a serum mixing it with Argireline and other actives (50 and 42 women, 8–12 weeks, no comparison group). No peer-reviewed controlled trial of it alone exists. Its muscle-relaxing action comes only from the maker’s cell tests, and skin absorption hasn’t been measured. Pure-powder mixes, long-term use and injection are untested.
Syn-Ake is used on the skin, so the math is a dilution, not a syringe dose.
| Powder | Serum volume | Strength | Percent | ppm |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 mg | 50 mL | 0.2 mg/mL | 0.02% | 200 ppm |
| 10 mg | 100 mL | 0.1 mg/mL | 0.01% | 100 ppm |
| 10 mg | 200 mL | 0.05 mg/mL | 0.005% | 50 ppm |
| 10 mg | 500 mL | 0.02 mg/mL | 0.002% | 20 ppm |
The maker supplies it as a glycerin and water solution with about 0.2–0.3% peptide. Its 4% test level equals about 80–120 ppm, roughly 10 mg of pure peptide in 100 mL of serum.
Every compound side by side: the half-life chart and the storage chart.
Every compound’s numbers: the identifiers table.
The maker supplies a glycerin and water solution with about 0.2–0.3% peptide, used at 1–4%, so finished products hold roughly 20–120 ppm. Pure powder is hundreds of times stronger than that solution.
A small synthetic peptide-like molecule designed to mimic waglerin-1, a toxin in the venom of Wagler’s pit viper that blocks the muscle receptor for acetylcholine, the nerve signal that makes muscles contract. It’s marketed to soften expression lines.
Syn-Ake is a small synthetic molecule built from beta-alanine, proline and diaminobutyric acid, designed to mimic waglerin-1, a viper-venom toxin that blocks the muscle nicotinic acetylcholine receptor, the switch nerve signals use to make muscle contract. In the maker’s lab tests it reduced contractions of nerve-connected muscle cells by 82% after 2 hours, an effect described as reversible. No published study shows it reaches facial muscle through skin. Whether any reaches facial muscle through skin, and whether wrinkle changes in tests come from muscle effects rather than surface effects such as moisture, is unknown.
Not approved as a drug in the US or EU; used as a cosmetic ingredient. Cosmetics don’t need FDA approval before sale. Never nominated for FDA’s compounding bulk lists; it isn’t on any of FDA’s 503A or 503B category lists (May 2026 and March 2025 versions).
From human studies (Supplier data): Maker’s test: cream with 4% of the supplier solution (about 80–120 ppm peptide), twice daily for 28 days in 45 volunteers. From community reports, not established: Finished products contain 1–4% of the supplier solution, about 20–120 ppm peptide; “4% Syn-Ake” doesn’t mean 4% pure peptide. These are the amounts sources reference, not recommendations.
No product label covers Syn-Ake, so these come from human studies and from precautions based on how it works. Anyone thinking of injecting it: It is a cosmetic ingredient, not made to injectable standards, and has never been tested by injection. It isn’t botulinum toxin or snake venom. Anyone mixing pure powder at high strength: The maker’s test level works out to about 80–120 ppm peptide; stronger mixes haven’t been tested for benefit or safety. People with myasthenia gravis or similar conditions: It is designed to block the muscle acetylcholine receptor, the signal impaired in myasthenia gravis. Skin absorption hasn’t been measured, and use in these conditions hasn’t been studied. The “Who should avoid it” section lists 1 more group.
Supplier solution: sealed, away from light, at 15–25 °C (stable at least 2 years, per the maker). Pure powder: freezer (about −20 °C), kept dry. The supplier solution has no preservative, and the maker says to use an opened container right away. Finished serum: cool and dark. This is common practice; no product label covers it.
No. Not named on the 2026 list. It’s a topical cosmetic ingredient, not a drug of the kind S0 covers.
Yes. The human studies section lists one published study. The largest, from 2026, included 92 people. Static wrinkle scores improved 35–69% and dynamic wrinkle scores 10–13% from baseline (p<0.001), with no adverse events; with no comparison group, Syn-Ake’s share is unknown.
Trial 12 weeks, in a single-group study of a serum mixing it with other actives (50 women). Alone, only the maker’s 28-day test.
Trial Sold for creams and serums, but no study has measured how much passes through skin. Human data come only from serums mixing it with other actives; injection is untested.
No study There’s no label and no overdose data, and Syn-Ake alone has never been tested in a published human study. Call Poison Help (1-800-222-1222), or emergency services for severe symptoms.
For the protocol details
For how it works, who should avoid it and the limits of the evidence
For uses, the side-effect questions, special situations, trials, identifiers and status outside the US
Doses tagged Community come from public dosing guides and user reports, checked against at least two of them. Those sites aren’t named here because many of them sell peptides or earn commissions on them.